Two original song performances cancelled from Oscar broadcast

Los Angeles, Feb 20 (IANS) The Oscar-nominated songs “Manta ray”, from the documentary “Racing Extinction”, and “Simple song #3”, from Paolo Sorrentino’s “Youth”, will not be performed at the upcoming 88th Academy Awards.

According to a source, the reason behind the action is “time constraints”, reports variety.com.

On January 28, the Academy announced that Lady Gaga, Sam Smith and the Weeknd would perform their nominated tunes from “The Hunting Ground”, “Spectre” and “Fifty Shades of Grey”, respectively, on the telecast.

A special performance by Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has also been announced.

Last week, the campaigns behind the two outlying original song nominees, performed by lesser-known acts, were informed they would not be part of the show.

“Manta ray” features music by two-time Oscar-nominated composer J. Ralph, with lyrics by Antony Hegarty, who also performs.

“Simple Song #3” was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang and performed by South Korean soprano Sumi Jo, a Grammy winner. But those credentials weren’t enough to keep them on the program.